Sunday, February 19, 2012

India's sacred spaces are tapestries of culture: Shrines can serve as unique 'binding' social institutions, bringing people of different faiths together not out of toleration but respect

Dargah or religious shrines are one of the most precious legacies of Indian and indeed Islamic history. Most of the dargahs in India are the shrines of Sufi saints but many are also replicas of the shrines of the prophet's family. In India, like in many other parts of the world, it is fashionable to talk of the "composite culture" or "implicit secularism" of the various faiths present in India, a visit to any of these shrines tells a very different story. One such set of shrines is in Hussain Tekri, a sleepy town near Jaora in Madhya Pradesh.

In the 19th century after an alleged miracle, the Nawab of Jaora commissioned the building of the dargahs, which are approximate architectural replicas of the shrines of the prophet's cousin and son-in-law Ali, Ali's wife Fatima, his daughter Zainab, his sons Hussain and Abbas and his grand-daughter Sakina. The original shrines are located in Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Syria. Today Hussain Tekri is a thriving spiritual centre that provides solace and relief for the droves of people who visit it every year. The shrines are particularly renowned as they are visited not only by Shias and Sunnis but also by people from other faiths from all over India. Many people believe that visiting these shrines can cure those with mental illnesses. Of course, the reluctance in some societies to accept mental illness as anything other than a spiritual malady is another discussion, but what is clear is that these shrines provide a space in which mentally unwell people are at least acknowledged and not just hidden away.

I decided to drive from Udaipur in Rajasthan to Jaora in Madhya Pradesh with a Hindu family who wanted to visit the shrine. They had already visited Ajmer Sharif, the shrine of a 13th-century Sufi mystic in Rajasthan, which still attracts hundreds of thousands of people a year. One of the men confided in me that his prayers had been answered by the ghareeb navaaz, or the helper of the poor. The younger boys had just finished their morning puja or prayers under the cascading roots of a banyan tree and were adorned with bright-red tilaks, the red marks that many devout Hindus put on their foreheads. The tilak is placed at the Ajna Chakra or the space between the two eyebrows, which is meant to represent the mind's eye.

Upon arriving the boys announced that they did not have anything to cover their heads and so we bought some white skull-caps, which the vendor proudly announced were made in China. The shrines are all built within a large area and, as with any religious centre, a large number of shops and cafes have sprung up around the area. Strikingly, however, the shops and restaurants were not only run by Muslims but there were also Hindu shopkeepers, distinct because of the posters that adorned their shops. The shrines themselves were buzzing with activity and were covered with a hazy swirl of incense smoke. The shrine of Abbas in particular was full of people who had chained themselves to a railing or had bound their feet together while patiently waiting for Abbas to intercede on their behalf to God. Others swayed to and fro uttering gibberish while their relatives prayed fervently for their mental health. Yet others were lying outside the shrines covered in mud from the neighbouring fields, hoping that this would cure them of their afflictions.

Of course, there are many Muslims, both Shia and Sunni, and indeed Hindus, who would take issue with the practices of those who visit the shrines, and it is not the aim of this article to discuss whether these practices are indeed permissible according to classical doctrines. However, what is important is that the many people who travel to these shrines do identify themselves as rooted in a particular religious tradition. The day I was there I met Kshatriyas of the warrior caste from Rajasthan, Sunnis from Lucknow, Shias from Bombay and tribal animists from Gujarat. Although the shrines are associated with figures that are mistakenly often only associated with the Shia religious traditions they are run and managed by Sunnis who belong to various Sufi orders.

What struck me in particular was that the throngs of people from various religions who were visiting the shrine that day were not exhibiting the kind of "secularism" that is so often the subject of intellectual debate. Rather they approached the shrines while being very much rooted in their own faith. It was not by compromising some aspect of their religion that they went to the shrine but rather their rootedness in a certain tradition necessitated the respect of the other pilgrims from a different faiths. Instead of speaking of a composite or syncretic culture, then, which implies that some aspects of the traditions are lost or compromised in their fusion, it is better to speak of Indian society as a tapestry; each distinctive thread has its own unique colour and the various colours unite to provide a profound and vibrant whole without compromising on the essence of the other colours.

Shrines, then, serve as unique "binding" social institutions that provide a "sacred" space in which people can come together and pray while often being surrounded by people of a different tradition. The harmony, which results, is not because of toleration; a word that implies a certain amount of negativity as one only tolerates that which is bearable. Rather it is because of the deep respect that people have for their own faith and therefore necessarily also have for those from a different faith.

Today many groups within most religions insist that their particular interpretation is the only true path and often institutions like these shrines are the target of their vitriolic rhetoric and violent actions. Indeed there have even been attacks on such shrines. In today's increasingly violent world, it is crucial to preserve these "sacred spaces", which seamlessly unite people from such different backgrounds and faiths.

Picture: Sufi Muslims gather at the shrine of the saint Nizam-Ud-Din Chishti. Photo: David Levene / The Guardian

Sunday, February 19, 2012

India's sacred spaces are tapestries of culture: Shrines can serve as unique 'binding' social institutions, bringing people of different faiths together not out of toleration but respect

Dargah or religious shrines are one of the most precious legacies of Indian and indeed Islamic history. Most of the dargahs in India are the shrines of Sufi saints but many are also replicas of the shrines of the prophet's family. In India, like in many other parts of the world, it is fashionable to talk of the "composite culture" or "implicit secularism" of the various faiths present in India, a visit to any of these shrines tells a very different story. One such set of shrines is in Hussain Tekri, a sleepy town near Jaora in Madhya Pradesh.

In the 19th century after an alleged miracle, the Nawab of Jaora commissioned the building of the dargahs, which are approximate architectural replicas of the shrines of the prophet's cousin and son-in-law Ali, Ali's wife Fatima, his daughter Zainab, his sons Hussain and Abbas and his grand-daughter Sakina. The original shrines are located in Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Syria. Today Hussain Tekri is a thriving spiritual centre that provides solace and relief for the droves of people who visit it every year. The shrines are particularly renowned as they are visited not only by Shias and Sunnis but also by people from other faiths from all over India. Many people believe that visiting these shrines can cure those with mental illnesses. Of course, the reluctance in some societies to accept mental illness as anything other than a spiritual malady is another discussion, but what is clear is that these shrines provide a space in which mentally unwell people are at least acknowledged and not just hidden away.

I decided to drive from Udaipur in Rajasthan to Jaora in Madhya Pradesh with a Hindu family who wanted to visit the shrine. They had already visited Ajmer Sharif, the shrine of a 13th-century Sufi mystic in Rajasthan, which still attracts hundreds of thousands of people a year. One of the men confided in me that his prayers had been answered by the ghareeb navaaz, or the helper of the poor. The younger boys had just finished their morning puja or prayers under the cascading roots of a banyan tree and were adorned with bright-red tilaks, the red marks that many devout Hindus put on their foreheads. The tilak is placed at the Ajna Chakra or the space between the two eyebrows, which is meant to represent the mind's eye.

Upon arriving the boys announced that they did not have anything to cover their heads and so we bought some white skull-caps, which the vendor proudly announced were made in China. The shrines are all built within a large area and, as with any religious centre, a large number of shops and cafes have sprung up around the area. Strikingly, however, the shops and restaurants were not only run by Muslims but there were also Hindu shopkeepers, distinct because of the posters that adorned their shops. The shrines themselves were buzzing with activity and were covered with a hazy swirl of incense smoke. The shrine of Abbas in particular was full of people who had chained themselves to a railing or had bound their feet together while patiently waiting for Abbas to intercede on their behalf to God. Others swayed to and fro uttering gibberish while their relatives prayed fervently for their mental health. Yet others were lying outside the shrines covered in mud from the neighbouring fields, hoping that this would cure them of their afflictions.

Of course, there are many Muslims, both Shia and Sunni, and indeed Hindus, who would take issue with the practices of those who visit the shrines, and it is not the aim of this article to discuss whether these practices are indeed permissible according to classical doctrines. However, what is important is that the many people who travel to these shrines do identify themselves as rooted in a particular religious tradition. The day I was there I met Kshatriyas of the warrior caste from Rajasthan, Sunnis from Lucknow, Shias from Bombay and tribal animists from Gujarat. Although the shrines are associated with figures that are mistakenly often only associated with the Shia religious traditions they are run and managed by Sunnis who belong to various Sufi orders.

What struck me in particular was that the throngs of people from various religions who were visiting the shrine that day were not exhibiting the kind of "secularism" that is so often the subject of intellectual debate. Rather they approached the shrines while being very much rooted in their own faith. It was not by compromising some aspect of their religion that they went to the shrine but rather their rootedness in a certain tradition necessitated the respect of the other pilgrims from a different faiths. Instead of speaking of a composite or syncretic culture, then, which implies that some aspects of the traditions are lost or compromised in their fusion, it is better to speak of Indian society as a tapestry; each distinctive thread has its own unique colour and the various colours unite to provide a profound and vibrant whole without compromising on the essence of the other colours.

Shrines, then, serve as unique "binding" social institutions that provide a "sacred" space in which people can come together and pray while often being surrounded by people of a different tradition. The harmony, which results, is not because of toleration; a word that implies a certain amount of negativity as one only tolerates that which is bearable. Rather it is because of the deep respect that people have for their own faith and therefore necessarily also have for those from a different faith.

Today many groups within most religions insist that their particular interpretation is the only true path and often institutions like these shrines are the target of their vitriolic rhetoric and violent actions. Indeed there have even been attacks on such shrines. In today's increasingly violent world, it is crucial to preserve these "sacred spaces", which seamlessly unite people from such different backgrounds and faiths.

Picture: Sufi Muslims gather at the shrine of the saint Nizam-Ud-Din Chishti. Photo: David Levene / The Guardian

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